Othello District 5/6 Tournament

Those of us who have been around for a little while remember the great Seattle Mariners years in the mid-‘90s and announcer Dave Niehaus’ catchprase, “My, oh my!”

That’s exactly how I feel about the Speech and Debate team’s achievements in Mid-Columbia/Yakima Valley competition on Saturday, January 20, at Othello High School.

We are at the point in the season where things are beginning to solidify for Regionals in Yakima on February 16 and 17 and National Qualifiers at Chiawana the following week. It’s the last chance to try out new material, and several of our students did just that. Because there are no divisions between novice and varsity at regionals or state, the novices are honing their speeches and preparing to face competition they have not yet encountered.

And my, oh my, did they succeed. Once again, we dominated with just over a third of all possible trophies at the tournament (all three team trophies), and nearly half of the first-place finishes available. Sixteen of our nineteen competitors came home with at least one award, and the remaining three were very close. A few earned their very first trophies, and we managed a sweep on one event. We also had one brand new competitor, who placed in both of his events. Here are their results:

·         Team: 1st place, Debate; 1st place, Individual [speech] Events; 1st place, Large Teams (by nearly 100 points over the second place team)

·         Audra Totten: 1st place, Open expository speaking

·         Baylee Easterday: 1st place, Open Student Congress; 1^st place, Open Extemporaneous Speaking; 1^st place, Open Tall Tales; 1^st place, Open Interpretive Reading; 1^st place, Open Impromptu Speaking

·         Caleb Hernandez: 1^st place, Open Dual Interpretation (with Ford Powers); 1^st place, Dual Improvisation (with Ford Powers)

·         Elijah Moore: 2^nd place, Spontaneous Argumentation; 3^rd place, Novice Editorial Commentary

·         Eric Harrod: 3^rd place, Open Public Forum Debate (with Malene Garcia); 2^nd Place, Open Original Oratory; 3^rd place, Dual Improvisation (with Quirino Quiroga)

·         Ford Powers: 1^st place, Open Public Forum Debate (with Isaiah Moore); 1^st place, Open Dual Interpretation (with Caleb Hernandez); 1^st place, Dual Improvisation (with Caleb Hernandez); 3^rd Place, Open Humorous Interpretation (not a bad 18^th birthday!)

·         Harrison Higgins: 3^rd place, Novice Humorous Interpretation

·         Isaiah Moore: 1^st place, Open Public Forum Debate (with Ford Powers); 2^nd place, Open Interpretive Reading; 2^nd place, Open Editorial Commentary

·         Jaqueline Florian: 1^st place, Novice Tall Tales

·         Linda Corona: 1^st place, Novice Tall Tales; 1^st place, Novice Humorous Interpretation

·         Linh Truong: 3^rd place, Novice Student Congress; 1^st place, Novice Impromptu Speaking

·         Malene Garcia: 3^rd place, Open Public Forum Debate (with Eric Harrod); 2^nd place, Open Expository Speaking

·         Monica Winn: 2^nd place, Open Dramatic Interpretation; 3^rd place, Open Interpretive Reading

·         Nathaly Mendoza: 3^rd place, Open Dramatic Interpretation

·         Quirino Quiroga: 3^rd place, Dual Improvisation (with Eric Harrod)

·         Trevor Schmitt: 2^nd place, Big Questions Debate; 2^nd place, Open Tall Tales; 2^nd place, Open Impromptu Speaking

Many of you know that Ford Powers is a member of the WIAA LEAP Committee, a student leadership committee that is comprised of high school juniors and seniors from around the state who are involved in WIAA activities. It was his turn to write for the monthly blog this month, and his description of being in speech and debate is a great read! (I know, I’m biased.) You can find it here: http://wiaa.com/blog.aspx?BID=3&SecID=750

Our next tournament is the brutal and punishing Hon. Thomas Foley Memorial Tournament at University High in Spokane on February 1-3. I hate it. I really, really, hate it. I have already booked the chiropractor and a massage for the next week. But it is a fantastic runup to both Regionals and National Qualifiers, as it gives us one more go at the Greater Spokane League (and schools from all over the state). Last year, we placed third there. Can’t wait to see what this year brings.


As always, thank you for your support and encouragement of these phenomenal young people. We can’t do it without you.